Cardinals Complete Spring Football Drills
April 21, 2001 | Football
April 21, 2001
LOUISVILLE, KY -- The University of Louisville completed its 15 days of spring practice with the annual Red/White scrimmage Saturday. An estimated crowd of 3,000 saw a balance between hard-hitting defensive football and the highly-efficient offensive unit of the Cardinals.
"We answered some questions this spring but we really need to mature as a football team during the off-season," said fourth-year head coach John L. Smith. "We need some young guys who haven't played much to grow up and be impact players for us this fall."
Smith put the Cardinals through a 78-play scrimmage in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and saw the offense hit paydirt three times. The Cardinal defense, who finished No. 2 in the nation in turnovers a year ago, also forced a pair of interceptions.
The U of L defense which ranked No. 15 nationally in 2000 controlled most of the scrimmage's early action.
Sophomore safety Anthony Floyd thwarted an early scoring attempt by the offense when he stepped in front of a Dave Ragone pass for the interception. Floyd set a Conference USA and U of L single season record a year ago when he picked off 10 passes.
The offense got on the scoreboard when redshirt freshman quarterback Stefan Lefors drove the second team offense 55 yards culminating in a Chris Lester one-yard plunge. Lester carried the football 10 times for the Cardinals totaling 31 yards and the game's only ground score.
Ragone chalked up the Cards' first aerial score when he found senior Zek Parker in front of CB Laroni Gallishaw for a 20-yard touchdown strike. On the afternoon, Ragone completed nine of 18 throws for 134 yards.
Lefors, who will enter the 2001 season as Ragone's understudy despite not taking a snap in game action, finished his first spring with a 12 of 21, 154-yard performance. He was intercepted once by classmate Kerry Rhodes but closed the scrimmage with a 19-yard TD pass to Parker.
Freshmen and newcomers are scheduled to report to campus on July 27 with rookie camp beginning one day later. Veterans will come back on July 31 with two-a-day drills beginning on August 2.
The Cardinals will open the 2001 season on August 23 when New Mexico State visits PJCS for the John Thompson Gridiron Classic.
Scoring Plays
Chris Lester 1 run
Zek Parker 20 pass from Dave Ragone
Parker 19 pass from Stefan Lefors
Individual Statistics
Rushing - Miller 10-39, Lester 10-31, Stallings 12-27,Ragone 6-22, Lefors 1-5.
Passing - Ragone 21-12-1-134-1, Lefors 18-9-1-159-1.
Receiving - Russell, 5-91, Parker 3-62, Ghent 4-44, Dorsey 2-56, Owens 2-31, Branch 1-7, Jones 1-6, Stallings 1-(-2), Miller 1-(-2)
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